1. Field
The present technology relates to a method and apparatus for oral and maxillofacial surgery and preoperative modeling.
2. Description of Related Art
Oral and Maxillofacial surgery refers to surgery to correct jaw and/or facial abnormalities that may be caused by disease, injuries, abnormal growth, skeletal disharmonies and/or defects in the head, neck, face, jaw and the hard and soft tissues of the oral (mouth) and maxillofacial (jaws and face) region. Oral and Maxillofacial surgery may also be referred to as orthognathic surgery, reconstructive jaw surgery or surgery orthodontics. During maxillofacial surgery it is often critical that the patient be provided with an unrestricted flow of oxygen and anesthetic gases. Typically, an anesthesia endotracheal tube from an anesthesia delivery circuit is taped to the face and inserted into the patient's nose during surgery. However, the endotracheal or breathing tube may be displaced as portions of the patient's face is moved or if there is traction on the anesthesia circuit tubing. If the endotracheal or breathing tube as well as anesthesia delivery circuit is restricted to such an extent that the patient does not receive enough oxygen, the patient may undergo cardiac arrest, which may lead to permanent damage and even death. Therefore, it is desirable to provide a surgical apparatus that increases the likelihood of an unrestricted flow of oxygen during maxillofacial surgery thereby reducing the likelihood of injury to the patient.
Providing accurate reference points, or where certain portions of the face are located or should be located, before beginning and during surgery is extremely important in order to have successful surgical results. For example, if the maxilla (upper jaw) is to be positioned three inches outward from its original position, a fixed reference point where the maxilla is in relationship to the immobilized facial skeleton or cranium is needed before incisions and displacement during surgery occurs.
While it is important to have a device that provides accurate reference points of portions of the face, it is also desirable that the reference points may be easily positioned based on preoperative modeling, adjusted during surgery and removed when they are no longer needed. If the reference points are easily positioned, adjusted and removed, the surgery may take less time and the surgeon may focus on other more critical aspects of the surgery. If the reference points are easily positioned, more accurate surgical results may be likely.
Further, it is desirable that a device that provides a reference point based on preoperative modeling be protected from being inadvertently adjusted before or while the device is used in surgery. A device that provides a reference point could be inadvertently adjusted by a surgical nurse during transportation. The inadvertently adjusted reference point may lead to misaligned surgical results or cause an unnecessary delay during surgery.
Typically before beginning maxillofacial surgery, an articulator is used in preoperative modeling. In particular, an articulator which fixes casts of the maxillary (upper) and mandibular (lower) teeth is used. The articulator with the fixed casts adjusts the position of the mandible in relation to the maxilla. The articulator and the fixed casts allow the surgeon to model a surgery. For example, the surgeon can model where bone cuts and displacement of bones may be made by cutting and repositioning portions of the casts. However, using the articulator to identify fixed reference points of the model or cast may result in the loss of those fixed reference points when the cast is removed from the articulator; thus not allowing further study or modeling.
In the drawing, in which like reference numerals indicate similar elements, and in the following description, numerous specific details are set forth as examples in order to provide a thorough understanding of embodiments. It will be obvious, however, to one skilled in the art, that embodiments may be practiced without some or all of these specific details. In other instances, well known process steps or elements have not been described in detail in order not to unnecessarily obscure a particular embodiment.